1975–76 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season explained

Season:1975–76
Manager: Bobby Collins (until 23 December 1975)
Tom Johnston (from 23 December 1975)
League Result:5th
Cup1 Result:Fourth round
Cup2 Result:Second round
League Topscorer:Terry Gray (15)
Season Topscorer:Terry Gray (19)
Highest Attendance:27,894 vs Bolton Wanderers (24 January 1976)
Lowest Attendance:3,595 vs Northampton Town (16 August 1975)
Largest Win:3–0 vs Darlington (21 February 1976)
3–0 vs Reading (28 February 1976)
Largest Loss:1–4 vs Doncaster Rovers (4 November 1975)
1–4 vs Exeter City (27 March 1976)
0–3 vs Tranmere Rovers (17 April 1976)
Nextseason:1976–77

Huddersfield Town's 1975–76 campaign was the first season in the 67 years existence of the club, that the team had been in the fourth tier of the Football League. Under Bobby Collins and then Tom Johnston, Town managed a 4th round appearance in the season's FA Cup competition and a 5th-place finish in Division 4. Town managed to finish just one place and two points behind 4th-placed Tranmere Rovers.

Review

Following their third relegation in four seasons, Town started the 1975–76 season in the Fourth Division, a level never seen by the Terriers, or by any team who had won the First Division. The Board had decided to return Town to the all-blue kit. The early part of the season under Bobby Collins and general manager Tom Johnston saw Town make a steady early start to the campaign, which only seemed to have a minor falter between late October and just before Christmas saw Town lose 6 out of 10 games, although the other 4 in that run were wins. The strain of general manager Johnston took its toll on manager Collins, who resigned two days before Christmas, with Johnston taking over, making him the first man in the club's history to have the job twice (Although, that is strictly speaking untrue as Ian Greaves was caretaker manager in 1964, before taking the job on a full-time basis in 1968 .).

Under Johnston, Town went on a pulsating run in the FA Cup 4th round, which led to a match-up with Bolton Wanderers, now managed by Ian Greaves, which Town narrowly lost 1–0. But, near the end of the season, Town without top scorer Terry Gray and his strike partner Bobby Campbell were both out with broken legs. Town's form plummeted as they only won 1 of their last 12 league games, whereas if any 3 of those winless games had resulted in wins, Town would have got promoted back into Division 3 at the first attempt, but instead they found themselves languishing in the division for another 4 seasons.

Results

Division Four

DateOpponentsHome/
Away		Result
F–A		ScorersAttendancePosition
16 August 1975Northampton TownH1–1Gray3,59510th
23 August 1975WatfordA2–0O'Neil (pen), Gray4,5006th
30 August 1975RochdaleH0–04,1855th
6 September 1975Scunthorpe UnitedA1–0Campbell2,2321st
13 September 1975Lincoln CityH0–15,2095th
20 September 1975Cambridge UnitedA0–03,1506th
24 September 1975Bradford CityA2–2Gray (2)4,4769th
27 September 1975BrentfordH2–1Gray, Garwood4,1605th
4 October 1975WorkingtonA2–0Maitland, Garwood1,1585th
11 October 1975Swansea CityA1–1Garwood3,3326th
18 October 1975Newport CountyH2–1Garwood, Gray5,4774th
21 October 1975Torquay UnitedH2–3Belfitt, Garwood5,7775th
25 October 1975ReadingA0–26,6799th
1 November 1975HartlepoolH2–0Garwood (pen), Smith4,1837th
4 November 1975Doncaster RoversA1–4Gray10,6509th
8 November 1975Stockport CountyA1–0Gray2,7897th
15 November 1975DarlingtonH1–0Smith4,1336th
29 November 1975BarnsleyA3–2Lawson (2), Smith5,0075th
6 December 1975Exeter CityH0–14,9876th
20 December 1975BournemouthA0–14,0128th
26 December 1975Tranmere RoversH1–0Belfitt6,6727th
27 December 1975SouthportA2–1Belfitt, Smith2,5466th
17 January 1976Cambridge UnitedH2–0Smith, Hart5,1956th
27 January 1976Crewe AlexandraH1–0Newton4,4596th
7 February 1976Doncaster RoversH1–2Gray6,3057th
14 February 1976Stockport CountyH2–2Newton (2)5,3078th
17 February 1976Torquay UnitedA3–1Gray (2), Baines2,0196th
21 February 1976DarlingtonA3–0Firth, Gray, Lawson2,0526th
28 February 1976ReadingH3–0Newton, Gray (2)6,5467th
1 March 1976RochdaleA0–03,7915th
6 March 1976HartlepoolA1–1Gray2,0446th
9 March 1976WorkingtonH2–0Hughes (og), Lawson5,0105th
13 March 1976Swansea CityH2–0Butler, Firth6,3935th
17 March 1976Newport CountyA2–1Sidebottom, Butler1,3744th
20 March 1976BarnsleyH1–2Goldthorpe10,0495th
23 March 1976Lincoln CityA0–011,2905th
27 March 1976Exeter CityA1–4Sidebottom3,9255th
30 March 1976BournemouthH0–05,8345th
3 April 1976Northampton TownA1–1Belfitt7,2185th
5 April 1976BrentfordA0–04,4135th
10 April 1976Scunthorpe UnitedH1–1Dolan6,5025th
14 April 1976Crewe AlexandraA2–0Belfitt, Newton2,7505th
17 April 1976Tranmere RoversA0–38,3085th
19 April 1976SouthportH1–2Belfitt6,3245th
24 April 1976WatfordH1–0Goldthorpe3,7875th
29 April 1976Bradford CityH0–04,7795th

FA Cup

DateRoundOpponentsHome/
Away		Result
F–A		ScorersAttendance
22 November 1975Round 1WalsallA1–0Belfitt5,506
13 December 1975Round 2Port ValeH2–1Belfitt, Baines6,218
3 January 1976Round 3FulhamA3–2Gray (2), Lawson10,299
24 January 1976Round 4Bolton WanderersH0–127,894

Football League Cup

DateRoundOpponentsHome/
Away		Result
F–A		ScorersAttendance
19 August 1975Round 1 1st LegBarnsleyH2–1Gray, Dolan4,200
27 August 1975Round 1 2nd LegBarnsleyA1–1Campbell6,043
  • Huddersfield won 3–2 on aggregate.
10 September 1975Round 2Derby CountyA1–2Gray20,602

Appearances and goals

NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsLeague Cup AppsLeague Cup GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
Steve BainesDF4114130482
Rod BelfittFW2864230358
Mick ButlerMF9 (1)200009 (1)2
Bobby CampbellFW1110031142
Willie CoulsonMF20000020
Terry DolanMF29 (1)1303135 (1)2
Barry EndeanMF2 (2)000002 (2)0
Franny FirthFW1620000162
Martin FowlerMF6 (2)000006 (2)0
Paul GarnerDF1600030190
Colin GarwoodFW1262000146
Wayne GoldthorpeFW6 (2)200006 (2)2
Terry GrayFW291542323619
Peter HartMF17 (2)1000017 (2)1
Geoff HuttDF2004030270
Jimmy LawsonMF22 (3)4310025 (3)5
Lloyd MaitlandMF9 (6)1100010 (6)1
Grahame McGiffordDF30000030
Bob NewtonFW16 (2)5000016 (2)5
Brian O'NeilMF3813030441
Terry PooleGK40000040
John SaundersDF1700030200
Arnie SidebottomDF92000092
Chris SimpkinDF2504000290
Steve SmithMF4154030485
Alan SweeneyDF3604000400
Dick TaylorGK4204030490

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "1975–76 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.